LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 352

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

352

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
We are in such a situation that no one can keep the Ten
Commandments perfectly, even though he or she has begun
to believe. Besides, the devil, along with the world and our
flesh, resists them with all his power. Consequently, nothing is
so necessary as to call upon God incessantly and to drum into
his ears our prayer that he may give, preserve, and increase
in us faith and the fulfillment of the Ten Commandments
and remove all that stands in our way and hinders us in this
regard.60

to come. And yet his commandments “are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3) when
viewed in the context of his grace in Christ.
Indeed, the human heart is by nature so desperately wicked
that it always flees from God, thinking that he neither wants
nor cares for our prayers because we are sinners and have
merited nothing but wrath. Against such thoughts, I say, we
should respect this commandment and turn to God so that
we may not increase his anger by such disobedience. By this
commandment he makes it clear that he will not cast us out or
drive us away, even though we are sinners; he wishes rather
to draw us to himself so that we may humble ourselves before
him, lament our misery and plight, and pray for grace and
help.61

Luther’s words here call to mind the stirring exhortation of St. Paul in
Ephesians 6, where fellow-soldiers of Christ are urged to “be strong in the
Lord and in the strength of his might,” to “put on the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:10-11).
Sometimes overlooked in this vivid description of the “panoply of God” is
that vital piece of equipment called prayer, which Paul mentions repeatedly
in the closing verses of this section, urging the church to:

Our problem, says Luther, is that
We allow ourselves to be impeded and deterred by such
thoughts as these: “I am not holy enough or worthy enough; if I
were as righteous and holy as St. Peter or St. Paul, then I would
pray.” Away with such thoughts! The very commandment
that applied to St. Paul also applies to me. The Second
Commandment is given just as much on my account as on his.
He can boast of no better or holier commandment than I. . . .

[Pray] at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making
supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words
may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the
mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains,
that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Eph. 6:18-20)

This is the first and most important point, that all our prayers
must be based on obedience to God, regardless of our person,
whether we are sinners or righteous people, worthy or
unworthy. We must understand that God is not joking, but that
he will be angry and punish us if we do not pray, just as he
punishes all other kinds of disobedience.62

Here prayer is linked to the Gospel in a dual sense: (1) the Spirit who
brings us to faith in the Gospel stirs us and moves us to pray (v. 18), and (2)
foremost among the petitions which we lay before the Lord in prayer is a plea
for courage and boldness on the part of those who are engaged in the task of
proclaiming the Gospel (v. 19).
God has given us the gift of prayer, says Luther, so that we may know and
have the way to call upon Him for help to do the things He has commanded
us to do, and so that, in turn, He Himself may bless us and others in our doing
of them. But how can we know for sure that God will accept us and receive
our prayer? How can we poor sinners presume to enter into his holy presence?
What right do we have to ask or expect God to give us any good thing?
Here again, and in a way that may surprise the reader who is perhaps too
easily inclined to expect a simple “Gospel” answer to these questions, Luther
finds great comfort in the fact that God himself has commanded us to pray.
Prayer is not something that we have devised or created as a means of influencing or manipulating God. We do not come to God in prayer on our own
initiative or on the basis of our own goodness or worthiness. We come, says
Luther, because God has instructed us, urged us, and yes, even commanded us

60

LC 3, 2, KW 440-441.

In part three of The Large Catechism, the command always comes first, as
Law comes before Gospel. Thus the command to pray, like all commands,
always functions for the Christian both as a “mirror” (showing us our sins
and failures) and as a “guide” (showing us how to respond properly and
faithfully to God’s love in Christ). In both cases, however, this command must
also be viewed in its proper relationship to the Gospel: it drives us to the cross
of Christ for forgiveness for our disobedience, and at the same time it shows
us—in the light of the cross which compels us to live gladly and willingly as
God’s children—what the good and gracious will of our heavenly Father is in
this area of the Christian life. It should not surprise us, therefore, that Luther
finds a Gospel promise “hidden” in God’s very command to pray: “Nor will
he allow our prayers to be frustrated or lost,” he goes on to say, “for if he did

61

LC 3, 10–11, KW, 441–442.

62

LC 3, 15, KW, 442.

27

26

not intend to answer you, he would not have ordered you to pray and backed
it up with such a strict commandment.”63
What is “hidden” becomes explicit in the next section of the catechism,
where Luther offers a second compelling reason for prayer:
. . . God has made and affirmed a promise: that what we pray
is a certain and sure thing. As he says in Psalm 50[:15], “Call
upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you,” and Christ
says in the Gospel of Matthew 7[:7–8] “Ask, and it will be given
you,” etc. . . . “For everyone who asks receives.” Such promises
certainly ought to awaken and kindle in our hearts a longing and love
for prayer. For by his Word, God testifies that our prayer is heartily
pleasing to him and will assuredly be heard and granted, so that we
may not despise it, cast it to the winds, or pray uncertainly. You can
hold such promises up to him and say, “Here I come to Thee,
dear Father, and pray not of my own accord nor because of
my own worthiness, but at your commandment and promise,
which cannot fail or deceive me.”64
In an Eastertide sermon on the words of Jesus in John 16:23—”Truly,
truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it
to you”—Luther maintains that God’s promise is “the chief thing” and “the
foundation and power of all prayers.” In this verse, says Luther, God not only
promises He will hear and answer our prayers, He actually swears that He will
do so: “Verily, verily, I say unto you . . .” (John 16:23).
If it were not for this promise, who would have courage to
pray? We have hitherto resorted to many ways of preparing
ourselves to pray—ways with which the books are filled; but
if you wish to be well prepared, take the promise and lay hold
of God with it. Then your courage and desire to pray will soon
grow, which courage you will otherwise never get.65

but who knows whether it pleased him, or whether I have hit upon the right
form and mode? Thus, there is no nobler prayer to be found” than the Lord’s
Prayer, “for it has the powerful testimony that God loves to hear it. This we
should not trade for all the riches in the world.”66
We will speak more of the Lord’s Prayer in the next section, where we will
discuss how we should pray. At this point, however, it is worth noting that
while the Lord’s Prayer is indeed the “noblest prayer on earth,” it is not the
only example of how God has “put into our mouths the very words we are to
use” when we pray. There is, in fact, an entire book of Scripture that has rightly
been called “the prayer book of the Bible,” the book of Psalms. As noted above
there is always a close connection between biblical prayer and the Word itself.
That connection becomes a complete unity as we pray not only according to,
but in God’s very own words, whether that is the Psalter or the Lord’s Prayer.
That is the basis of Luther’s serene confidence about this “third reason” to
pray.
There is, finally, a fourth reason for prayer given in The Large Catechism,
and if it is not the most theologically sublime reason, it is perhaps the most
obvious and even (humanly speaking) the most compelling reason. Prayer
“has been prescribed for this reason also,” says Luther, “that we should reflect
on our need, which ought to drive and compel us to pray without ceasing.”67
Deeply-felt needs produce deeply-felt prayers, pleasing to God.
[W]here there is to be true prayer there must be utter earnestness. We must feel our need, the distress that drives and
impels us to cry out. Then prayer will come spontaneously, as
it should, and no one will need to be taught how to prepare for
it or how to create the proper devotion.68
Spontaneity in prayer does not imply, of course, a spurning of the
divinely-prepared and prescribed prayers of Scripture. Indeed, genuine
human need,
is something you will find richly enough in the Lord’s Prayer.
Therefore it may serve to remind us and impress upon our
hearts that we not neglect to pray. For we are all lacking plenty
of things: all that is missing is that we do not feel or see them.
God therefore wants you to lament and express your needs
and concerns, not because he is unaware of them, but in order
that you may kindle your heart to stronger and greater desires
and spread your apron wide to receive many things. 69

Alongside God’s command and God’s promise, Luther adds yet a third
reason to pray: God’s provision of the “perfect prayer” by which we can obey
His command and put His promises to the test. “Furthermore, we should be
encouraged and drawn to pray because, in addition to this commandment and
promise, God takes the initiative and puts into our mouths the very words and
approach we are to use.” Luther is, of course, speaking of the Lord’s Prayer,
which is “far superior to all others that we might devise ourselves.” Because
this prayer comes from the lips of our Lord Jesus himself, and because He himself has instructed us to pray in this way, we need never think: “I have prayed,
63

LC 3, 17–19, KW, 443.

64

LC 3, 19–21, KW, 443, emphasis added.

Sermons of Martin Luther, ed. John Nicholas Lenker, trans. by Lenker and others, Vol. 3
(Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989), 168.
65

28

2013 Convention Workbook

66

LC 3, 22–23, KW, 443.

67

LC 3, 24, KW, 443.

68

LC 3, 26, KW, 444.

69

LC 3, 27, KW, 444.

29